Chad Morris Remembers the Exact Moment Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Called Him Home

Chad Morris was taking a photo of a seagull on a beach in Destin, Florida, before he got a phone call from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.

He remembered exactly where he was, retelling the story on Clemson Athletics’ podcast, Two Right Turns, which was released on Monday. Morris was in Jacksonville for the Virginia Cavaliers’ Gator Bowl game on Dec. 27. He was there for his son, Chandler, who was playing in his last collegiate game.

Three days later, on Dec. 30, he had finished working out and went to the beach for a little bit by himself. That’s when he took the picture; it was 12:28 p.m., exactly.

“So I snapped the picture, and it had a beautiful picture of the sun in the background,” Morris said, “and it wasn’t 30 seconds later, I get a phone call, and it was Coach Swinney.”

Swinney parted ways with former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley that same day, going in-depth with Morris immediately about what he was thinking about. Then, the new Clemson offensive coordinator made a bold response to what Swinney was thinking about doing next.

“Coach and I have got a great relationship,” Morris said. “I just said ‘Coach, your list is one, and that’s me.’”

Then, after another hour of conversation, Swinney finished up with “I’ll call you back tonight.” They would have another conversation several hours later.

“We go for about another hour talking about things,” Morris said, “and just hearing his passion and what he wants and what we both want this program to be back at and where it was.”

During this conversation, Swinney then asks Morris if his wife, Paula, wanted him to go back to Clemson to coach. He then put the phone on speaker phone, with his wife, speaking to both Swinney and his own wife, Kathleen, who was in the background.

Then, his wife gave Morris a powerful moment that had him “emotional just talking about it.”

“She made the comment,” Morris said. “She said, ‘You know Coach, I’d crawl back to Clemson for you and Kathleen,’ and, like I said, I get a little emotional with talking with it because that’s how special this place is and has been to us and our family.”

Morris then went into detail about Paula, saying how important she was for his players when he was with the Tigers from 2011-14. He said that she brought a positive impact on the team, and that influence will be seen again in 2026.

Conversations continued all the way into the new year, but it didn’t take long for Morris to be reintroduced as Clemson’s offensive coordinator for next season. Those conversations that the two had over the holiday will now become commitments into next season, where Swinney’s move will look to bring back the Tigers’ offense of old.

Swinney taught Morris a quality that not many coaches take into their philosophies: giving back. That’s something the offensive coordinator took with him on his travels, but now he will bring more of that mentality to Clemson.

“Coach always talks about, and I’ve taken it from him, is the world has so many takers,” Morris said. “Be a giver, and that’s what he is, and that’s what this program is built on.”

The two see eye-to-eye on a lot, and now that the Clemson head coach has his good friend back on his staff, he will look to activate a unit that hummed the last time that Morris was calling plays.